Windshield mounting device



Aug. 17, 1948.

B. G. EATON, JR., Erm.

WINDSHIELD MOUNTING DEVICE v I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 25, 1945 lice 'afazz diem VEN ToRs IMUQWondE/Vwdi ug. i7, 1948. B. G. EATON, JR., Erm. 2,447,059 n WINDSHIELD- MOUNTING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I Filed July 25, 1945 fllctbf'afolz efr INVENTORS will ozzdE/Www'cl Patented Aug. 17, 1948 E. Moses, Jr., Tunkhannock, Pa., assignors to Curtiss-Wright Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application `luly 25, 1945, Serial No. 606,994

9 Claims.

The present invention relates to mounting devices and more particularly to a mounting which may be used to advantage in connection with aircraft, and the windshields of aircraft and other vehicles.

windshield.

of the panel.

the aircraft.

means.

shield into the fuselage.

is shown.

In the drawings:

5 jacent structural members of the fuselage in The instrument panels of modern airplanes are phantom; in many instances positioned directly in front of Figure 4 is an exploded perspective View of a the plilots seat and ybehind and below the cabin pair of the mounting members, the View being In such airplanes it is frequently taken looking at the backs or inner sides thereof; necessary that the instruments in the panel be Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4, but shows serviced, and heretofore in order to do so it usuing the same `pair of mounting members in their ally has been necessary to either remove parts of assembled or nested positions; the windshield or to remove the instrument itself Figure 6 is a view in section, the section being in order to gain access to the forward wall or back taken on line 6-6 of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a View in section as taken on line Accordingly it is a major object of this inven- 'F-'I of Figure 5; and tion to provide a windshield `for an airplane that Figure 8 is a view in section as taken on line is easily and readily removed therefrom in its en- 8 8 of Figure 5. tirety. In carrying out this object it is another Referring to the drawings, and particularly to aim of the invention to provide a mounting for Figure l, there is shown a windshield assembly the removable windshield that permits of the attached to the fuselage II of an airplane. To ready removal and replacement of the windshield, the rear of the windshield there is provided a without disturbing the permanent fastenings of cockpit canopy 9, faired thereto and to the fuselage, and is suitably slidable or removable to per- It is another object of the present invention to mit access to the cockpit by the pilot. The windform the windshield mounting of a plurality of shield assembly I0 includes Va framework I2, in interiitting members which when constructed inwhich a plurality of transparent panels I3 are tegrally with the airplane fuselage and the windsecured by the bolts I 2b, and a pair of base castshield, permits the ready detachment and attachings I to which the framework I2 is attached. ment of the windshield from the airplane by slid- While the members I4 and I5 have been referred ing the windshield forwardly and rearwardly, reto as castings, it will be understood that they spectively, relative to the fuselage. may be stamped or formed or of other suitable It is still another object of this invention to construction. The windshield assembly is secured construct the mounting members of the windto the fuselage II by a pair of fuselage castings shield and fuselage in such manner that when i5 which form the forward contour of the cockpit slidably interiitted they interlock the windshield openingY and serve to fair the junction between with the fuselage and are secured against slidthe windshield and fuselage contours. ing movement by a simple, convenient mechanical ings I4 and I5 will be referred to hereinafter as the base and fuselage castings, respectively.

In carrying out the foregoing objects it is still In the embodiment of the invention which has another aim of the invention to form the mountbeen selected and shown in the drawings there ing members as castings, the windshield casting are two similar base castings I6, one right hand forming the windshield `base and the fuselage and the other left hand, being bolted together casting forming the edge of at least the forward through the flanges I6 at their leading edge to part of the cockpit opening and fairing the windform a base assembly. Likewise the fuselage Other and further obmounting is comprised of a pair of right and left jects and advantages will :be apparent to those hand castings I5 which are bolted together skilled in the art from the following description, through their leading edge flanges I8 to form the references being had to the accompanying drawfuselage casting assembly. This assembly may ings wherein a preferred form of embodiment be secured to the fuselage in any suitable manner,

but is shown herein as being attached to the transverse rewall I9 and longerons 2&3 of the Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the infuselage by means of the flanges 2I and 21a, revention in connection with a windshield and an spectively, of the castings I5.

adjacent portion of an airplane fuselage;

2 Figure 2 is a View of the windshield element shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view of the fittings by which the windshield is secured to the fuselage, showing ad- The cast- Intermediate flanges 2lb are provided on the members I5 for 3 attachment to the transverse fuselage former 23. The castings I5 are also each provided with a recessed flange 22 which is adapted to receive the skin IIs of the fuselage in such manner as to provide a smooth faired joint in order that air flowing across the joint will be substantially undisturbed, and its turbulence and resistance reduced. A plurality of bolt holes I6h, Ih and 2 I h are provided for bolting through these flanges.

Both the base casting assembly and fuselage casting assembly are substantially of opened V- or U-shape and are adapted to be interlocked by intertting a tongue 24 on the base assembly into a groove 25 on the fuselage assembly and then sliding the base assembly rearwardly until the assemblies are nested in their faired position as indicated in the detail in Figure 6. This tongue and groove interlock is supplemented by a vertical stud 26 which protrudes upwardly from the inside of each casting I 5 and is adapted to engage a hook portion 2! of each base casting I4 to restrain outward bending or movement of the castings I4. When the assemblies are thus interlocked they can only be disengaged by sliding the base assembly forward from the nested position and therefore any simple mechanical means may be utilized to prevent relative sliding movement of the assemblies with respect to one another. In ths embodiment the mechanical means utilizedis preferably a flat headed bolt 28 which is received by the aligned openings 29 in the trailing or after ends of the legs o'f the castings. Since the material from which the castings are made is relatively soft it is desirable that a bushing Sii of a harder material be positioned in the opening 2S in the outer or base casting I4 to receive the head of the bolt 28 which also acts to positively retain the ends of the tongue and groove in absolute engagement.

From the foregoing it will be readily seen that there has been provided a mounting which may be used with particular advantage in securing a windshield to the fuselage of an airplane and which permits of easy and ready attachment and detachment thereof by slidably intertting the windshield to the fuselage and nally securing them by a bolt or other simple mechanical means. It will also be seen that the windshield cannot expand at the base to disengage its fastenings, the intertting studs 2E and hooks 21 securing the center portions and the bolts 28 securing the ends of the base against outward movement.

Other forms and modications of the present invention, both with respect to its general arrangement and the details of its respective parts, which may become apparent to those skilled in the art after reading this description, are intended to come within the scope and spirit of this invention as more particularly set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In aircraft, a forwardly converging fuselage member having a forwardly and laterally opening groove, a readily removable windshield having a similarly forwardly converging portion, a rearwardly and inwardly directed tongue on said windshield portion adapted to engage said fuselage member groove, both said fuselage member and windshield tongue and groove engaging portions being similarly U-shaped in outlinesuch that separation can take place only by forward sliding movement of said windshield with respect to said fuselage member, and attachment means engaging said fuselage member and said wind- 4 shield portion arranged to prevent relative fore and aft movements therebetween.

2. In aircraft, a forwardly converging fuselage member having an outwardly opening groove, a readily removable windshield having a similarly forwardly converging portion, an inwardly directed tongue on said windshield portion adapted to engage said outwardly opening fuselage member groove, the tongue and groove engaging portions of said fuselage member and windshield having similar arched configuration in plan form such that their separation can take place only by relative forward sliding movement of said windshield, and attachment means engaging the rearward terminals of said fuselage member and said windshield portion arranged to prevent relative fore and aft movements therebetween.

3. In aircraft, a forwardly converging fuselage member having a forwardly and laterally opening groove, a readily removable windshield having a similarly forwardly converging tongue portion adapted to engage said fuselage member groove, wedging means cooperatively carried by said fuselage member and said windshield portion arranged to prevent relative lateral movements, and attachment means engaging said fuselage member and said windshield portion arranged to prevent relative fore and aft movements therebetween.

4. In aircraft construction, a fuselage structure including a pair of laterally spaced longerons framing a cockpit opening, said cockpit opening being of U-shape with its closed end extending in a forward longitudinal direction, a U-shaped member xedly attached to said fuselage longerons, a removable windshield having a complementary U-shaped base portion adapted upon rearward sliding movement to closely engage said fuselage member, wedging tongue and groove means cooperatively carried by said fuselage structure and said windshield arranged to prevent relative lateral and vertical displacement, and attachment means connecting the rearward terminals of said fuselage and windshield members arranged to prevent disengagement thereof.

5. In aircraft windshield construction, a forwardly converging fuselage member having a forwardly and laterally opening groove, a readily removable windshield having a similarly forwardly converging portion, a rearwardly and inwardly directed tongue on said windshield portion adapted to engage said fuselage member groove, wedging means cooperatively carried by the lateral intermediate portions of said fuselage member and said windshield portion arranged to prevent relative lateral movement therebetween and attachment means engaging the rearward terminals of said fuselage member of said windshield portion arranged to vprevent relative fore and aft movements therebetween.

6. In aircraft windshield construction, a forwardly converging rearwardly open fuselage member having a forwardly and outwardly opening groove, said groove having rearwardly terminating laterally spaced ends, a readily removable windshield having a similarly shaped and dimensioned forwardly converging rearwardly open portion, and a rearwardly and inwardly directed tongue carried by said windshield adapted upon relative rearward bodily movement to engage said fuselage member groove, the said tongue and groove being shaped and dimensioned to slidably and interfittinglyengage each other and define a common coinciding plane along which the said relative engagement and disengagement movements are restricted, thereby preventing relative lateral and vertical movements therebetween.

7. In aircraft windshield construction, a forwardly converging fuselage member having a forwardly and laterally opening horizontally extending groove, said groove having rearwardly terminating ends, a readily removable windshield having a similarly forwardly converging portion, and a rearwardly and inwardly directed tongue on said windshield portion shaped and dimensioned to slidably and interttingly engage said fuselage member groove upon relative rearward bodily movement in a horizontal direction, said slidable and intertting engagement being such that said windshield is restricted to horizontal movements and is restrained from relative lateral or vertical separating movements from said fuselage.

8. Means for attaching a removable windshield to a fuselage structure about a cockpit opening therein comprising a recessed curvilinear member carried by the fuselage structure, the said windshield having a matching curvilinear base member, said base member being shaped and dimensioned to slidably and interfittingly engage the recess of said first curvilinear member, said first curvilinear member forming the forward edge of said cockpit opening and serving to fair said windshield into the fuselage, and attachment means engaging both said members arranged to prevent relative movement therebetween.

9. In aircraft, a fuselage structure framing a cockpit opening, a curvilinear member xedly carried by said fuselage structure around a front edge of said cockpit opening, a removable windshield having a curvilinear base portion, said base portion shaped and dimensioned to slidably and interttingly engage said curvilinear fuselage member, Wedging means cooperatively carried by said fuselage structure and said windshield arranged to prevent relative lateral movements therebetween and fastening means joining said slidably and interttingly engaging curvilinear members adjacent the rearward terminals thereof to prevent their longitudinal disengagement.

BRUCE G. EATON, JR. RAYMOND E. MOSES, Ja.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,991,832 Zand Feb. 19, 1935 2,258,724 Wagner et al Oct. 14, 1941 2,293,656 McClain Aug. 18, 1942 2,295,345 Jerman Sept. 8, 1942 

